Lansing officials have pulled a proposal that would have made the city the sole provider of curbside trash collection.
The plan, introduced to City Council last week, aimed to reduce wear and tear on city roads caused by multiple private garbage trucks.
But City Council President Ryan Kost, one of the proposal’s sponsors, said it was withdrawn due to a lack of public outreach.
“There should have been an informational piece,” Kost said. “And I don’t think that there was enough information out there for people to try to understand or engagement with the community.”
The proposal faced criticism from local haulers, including Granger Waste Services — one of four contractors currently operating in Lansing.
Kost said opponents mischaracterized the plan, by claiming it would have eliminated private waste collection altogether.
“It would have had a competitive bid process for half the city,” he said. “At this point, we only had enough trucks and people to do half the city ourselves.”
Kost said the city will now review its existing trash collection services to determine how they can be improved.
“What we do now is we look at our own cart service and we figure out ways to make it better, offer more services,” Kost said. “And show the residents of Lansing that the cart service is a superior service and it's convenient.”
